Jeffrey Baldwin is shown in a Superman Halloween costume. / Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario via AP

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

The company that owns Superman won't allow the Man of Steel's logo on a memorial for a 5-year-old Toronto boy whose grandparents starved him to death.

Superman was Jeffrey Baldwin's superhero. He dressed up as him one Halloween, and used to jump off chairs in a bid to fly, his family said.

Touched by the boy's tragic death, Todd Boyce, of Ottawa, raised money for a statue of Jeffrey in his Superman costume. But DC Entertainment flashed the legal Kryptonite, killing the idea.

"Basically, they didn't want to have the character of Superman associated with child abuse," Boyce told the Canadian Press. "They weren't comfortable with that."

"To be fair to DC, I don't think they wanted to say no. I think they gave it serious thought," he added.

DC Entertainment would not comment.

But the little man of bronze will still soar, Boyce said.

The iconic "S" will instead be changed to a "J" on the statue, created by noted Ontario artist Ruth Abernethy,

Casting will happen soon, and Boyce is hoping for a September unveiling and dedication.

The case attracted renewed interest last year when a coroner's inquest was convened to recommend changes in Ontario's child-protection system.Jeffrey died in November 2002. His grandparents, who had custody of him and his three siblings, were convicted of second-degree murder in 2006.